Some fans seemed to be comforted by the words of general manager John Dorsey Monday as the Kansas City Chiefs announced they had made linebacker Justin Houston their franchise player.

“Justin is a talented player and a key contributor to our defense,’’ Dorsey said. “Today was the deadline to designate a franchise player, and it was in the best interest of the club to place the tag on Justin. We will continue to discuss long-term options with him and his agent. Our goal is to reach a deal that is mutually beneficial. We want to keep Justin in a Chiefs uniform for years to come.”

I heard from more than a few fans that they took this as a commitment on the part of the Chiefs to keep Houston around from the long term.

That might be. Houston might have a long, prosperous career entirely in Kansas City and at this point I don’t doubt the Chiefs’ sincerity in making that happen

Just don’t bank on it based on Dorsey’s words. Let this be a friendly reminder not to necessarily take seriously what’s being said publicly about contract negotiations.

As an example, I give you Dorsey’s words on March 4, 2013, when the Chiefs made tackle Branden Albert their franchise player.

“Today was the league’s deadline to designate a franchise player and we felt it was in the best interest of the Kansas City Chiefs to place the tag on Branden,’’ he said. “We will continue to negotiate with Branden and his agent to reach a deal that is mutually beneficial. We are looking forward to working with Branden in the near future.”

Albert played that season for the Chiefs but left shortly afterward as a free agent for the Miami Dolphins, who were happy to give Albert the long-term deal the Chiefs never would.

Albert was replaced at left tackle by Eric Fisher, the Chiefs’ 2013 first-round left tackle.

By the way, if Houston winds up leaving the Chiefs this year or even next, his likely replacement would be Dee Ford, the Chiefs’ 2014 first-round draft pick.